Thursday, December 17, 2015

DOE Exemptions From Title IX For Religious Colleges Is Growing

Earlier this month, The Column reported that in the last 18 months, the Department of Education has granted waivers to 27 religious colleges and universities in 17 states from the Department's interpretation of Title IX that bars schools receiving federal funds from discriminating against transgender students. (See prior related posting.) Nine other schools have exemption applications pending. A number of these schools have sought and received even broader exemptions from Title IX based on the school's religious tenets. For example in February the Department of Education granted a broad waiver to Anderson University:

The University is exempt from these provisions to the extent that they prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status, sex outside of marriage, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or abortion and compliance would conflict with the controlling organization’s religious tenets.

Christian advocacy groups are providing training and sample documents for schools to use in applying for exemptions. [Thanks to Religion Dispatches for the lead.]